Tech-Recipes Blogs Aggregator

as many of you may or may not be aware but next week WES2008 will kick off down in Orlando.  what is WES?  WES = Wireless Enterprise Symposium, basically its THE blackberry event of the year.  i will be attending the conference/convention this year and hopefully will be posting updates from the event. 

so, what is this viigo appliation?  basically its an RSS reader for your blackberry.  however, viigo offers several deeper features such as partnering with CTIA and WES to let you view your conference/convetion schedule; allows one to import ones own Bloglines, Google Reader, or My Yahoo! links. 

i am a desktop user.  period.  … or am i?

i started my computing history of course with desktops since well they were more accessible than the early portables (ie uber crazy prices for the times for the early laptops).  the apple IIe to the powerpc to a packard-bell 75mhz to my first computer/laptop toshiba 133mhz.  i then built my first desktop system, an AMD Slot A, 900mhz Athlon and about 20+ more systems.

anywho, davak’s recent blogs about helping his dad find a new computer has me really rethinking my setup.  currently i run a rather older (well imo older, Athlon 64 x2 cpu, socket 939; 2gb ddr1, 1.5+TBs of space) desktop which really needs to be updated if not replaced all together.  i also have an even older Athlon 64 htpc setup that just sits and collects dust but yet would not be worth even trying to sell. 

so what do i do? 

davak posted a nice follow up on this, desktop vs laptop, which really got me thinking.

i know that if i go with a more powerful laptop i won’t just toss my current desktop setup in the trash or sell it for pennies on ebay.  as a computer user, i’ve definetely come of age recently ie am ’starting to get old’, hehe or so it seems.  work has become a bit more demanding and having a more portable solutions seems more viable.  however when i am at home though i do want to still be able to do the more powerful things i do normally with my desktop such as rendering 720p video i’ve created or just sd video rendering or basic web server/file server features. 

also as a side note, i saw the best buy deal this last weekend for a toshiba a205-s5825 laptop for a mere $450 and got one and am so far pretty impressed with it for the price.  so the price of a decent new laptop (non mac one that is) is within the 1000us dollars range, imo.  a decent desktop would prob cost me around the same price if i built new from scratch and did not reuse parts (which i prob would not).  yes, the desktop would by default be more powerful but i really do not plan to game on my pc…

With my father considering a new computer purchase, he will soon have to decide if he wants a new laptop or another desktop. The popularity of laptop computers continues to grow. Although the differences between laptops and desktops have narrowed over the years, going portable involves many trade offs. Is going mobile worth it?

Come join in the conversation and help my dad decide. Do you use a laptop or a desktop? Why?

The journey starts off innocently enough…

To: “David Kirk”
Subject: Lap Top
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:41:18 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0

I am going to get a laptop. I need your help on what and where to get .

Dad

My father wants to get a laptop. I have that feeling that a parent gets when a child asks for a car or a bike or whatever…

I must be really dense or something to have not noticed the Encryption option in the right click context menu. Anyways, 8.04’s new keyring manager made some things easier.

Key making

First, you should make a key. Go to Applications>Accessories> Passwords and Encryption keys.

In the menu, click Key> Create New Key…

This tutorial shows how to obtain free wifi access from Starbucks and AT&T hotspots.

This probably will not last long, but it is fun for now. Much like our hacking the wii servers with firefox post, user agents are providing fun once again.

Starbucks and AT&T wifi recently opened up free access to the iPhone…

well, i’ll admit it.  i really never got into GTA III prior to GTA IV’s release. it may have been due to the fact that i passed that generation of console gaming for pc gaming (ah..  imo, kind of the glory days of pc gaming thus far; tons of good games and the fact that your hardware outpaced game requirements was nice on the pocket book too!). 

i really wasn’t sure what to expect with GTA IV on my Playstation3 ; i had played GTA III a few times at my pals and on my psp but i never for more than 20 minutes.  GTA IV’s hype was pretty huge especially with the release of the first batch of reviews giving it mainly 10/10, perfects.  so my impressions are not of a GTA vetern but of a newb after 3 hours of gameplay (not watching others play, hehe).

First things first, the intro is very well done.  gives you a movie feel and warms you up to getting down and dirty.

By creating a bookmark in your toolbar, you can access Compose Mail to quickly send an email from your Gmail account, while never leaving the page you were on. This is because you’d be drafting the email in Firefox’s Sidebar.

i did and hope to get my copy after i get off today!  like most know, i will be getting it for my Playstation3 today.  almost every pal i have that has a PS3 is getting it too so i hope to partake in some multi-player goodness (given its up and not having problems like earlier today).

also, rumor has it that GTAIV could possibly blow Halo3’s sales numbers out of the water.  network tv and the movie industry; are you scared yet?   corp america; are you ready for the volume of ’sick’ IT/geeks on wednesday…

Firefox’s sidebar is a perfect tool for accessing mobile sites. By using these sites in the sidebar, you can utilize various web apps and sites without having to leave the page you are on. In fact, you can create your own personal Flock-type browser if you take the time to find the necessary sites. I have used both Twitter and del.icio.us in my sidebar and have been quite pleased with the results.

If you use de.licio.us to store bookmarks to your favorite sites (or you like to use someone else’s de.licio.us links), then placing it in Firefox’s sidebar makes perfect sense. Once they’re in the sidebar, you have instant access to your favorite pages. Placing de.licio.us in Firefox’s sidebar is simple, read on . . .

I use Twitter quite a bit to keep up with the rest of the Tech-Recipes crew. Since I always have my Firefox browser open, it is beneficial to run Twitter in my browser’s sidebar. That way I post a quick tweet without having to leave the page that I am on. Placing Twitter in Firefox’s sidebar is simple, just read on . . .

If you’ve been following my last couple of posts on making your own Outlook Today page (Part 1 and Part 2), then you know that you can add a wide range of useful tools to the page. This increases Outlook’s efficiency and keeps you updated and informed.

Today’s installment involves intigrating Microsoft’s NetMeeting into the page. NetMeeting is still a highly used utility, especially on corporate networks. It is a voice and videoconferencing client that also allows for filesharing and desktop viewing. By adding it to your customized Outlook Today page, you are ready to host or join NetMeeting conferences.

Ubuntu Hardy Heron was released today and I’ll be updating my laptop (Downloading right now) and getting back to blogging in a couple of days.

(From what I hear, this seems to be a really good release. I’m so excited!)

Removing letterboxing or pillarboxing from video clips typically requires expensive video editing equipment. This screencast describes how to do this with the inexpensive and ubiquitous quicktime.

as most PS3 owners are well aware, the second to last firmware update, v2.20, brought BD-Live to the Playstation3.

what is BD-Live you ask? BD-Live, also known as Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0, allows compliant players to go online and retreive info/trailers about the movie.  During the heat of the nextgen format wars, HD-DVD used this feature as a selling point of HD-DVD however the Blu-ray camp later added the functionality w/the release of the 2.0 Bluray Disc Profile.

lets take a look at my Sixth Day Blu-ray disc and BD-Live in action on my Playstation3.

CamTwist is an OS X application that will add realtime video affects to a video stream. Most commonly CamTwist is used to provide video effects to a webcam or live video stream. CamTwist is free and requires a version of OS X that supports Quartz Extreme. This screencast demonstrates most of the currently included video effects. A Youtube version and a higher resolution video podcast version of this demo are available. CamTwist is free and is available now.

Last Request: Please Don’t Smoke

Originally uploaded by Sean (Ajka_Hungary).

As a pulmonologist and an ICU physician, this is the most powerful picture I have seen in a while…

well, its been a bit too long since i’ve last posted and i apologize for the lack of updates/posts/ranting/fanboyism.

a few weeks back, i was hosting a mini Rock Band jamfest/party and had the whammy bar on one of my Rock Band guitars break.  it was still useable but would not reset back to the original spot.

so, being the DIYer i am, i decided this last weekend that i would fix it myself and thus avoid having to wait who-knows-how-long to get back my guitar from Harmonix.  here is a basic guide on what you need to do (its not very scary or hard, only requires a screw driver and some macgyver skills). Keep reading to see the details.